1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method to control a slice image acquisition system. Moreover, it concerns a control device to implement such a method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Scan protocols in slice acquisition systems (such as computed tomography systems, magnetic resonance systems, PET and SPECT scanners and slice image-based image acquisition systems of similar design) serve for the simple control of a scan of specific examination subjects and/or of an image processing of the raw image data generated by the scan. The examination subjects can be positioned in a surrounding housing. The subject can be a human or animal body, but also an inanimate body such as tires or other products that should be scanned for material testing (for instance to examine material inclusions), for example.
Among other things, scan protocol-specific parameters are stored in the scan protocols. In contrast to simple information (such as a title of a scan protocol, for example), scan protocol-specific parameters are technical parameters, i.e. parameters that act as framework data for the control of the slice image acquisition system and/or for the processing of the acquired raw image data. These parameters are typically optimized for specific examination subjects and/or the question that forms the basis of a scan procedure. For example, completely different scan protocol-specific parameters are used for bone examinations within the scope of computed tomography than for the examination of coronary vessels. The parameters for a whole-body examination for prophylactic purposes likewise differ significantly from those of a detailed examination of a specific organ.
The selection of the appropriate scan protocols is presently conducted by the user of a slice image acquisition system. Using the titles of scan protocols, he or she typically selects from a list the scan protocol that is best suited for the examination of the subject to be examined.
Operator errors can enter into a scan protocol over the course of time, because scan protocols can be modified and stored under a different title by users. For example, it can occur that a user randomly selects a scan protocol that, for example, serves for the examination of a bone structure at the knee and incorrectly applies it for examination of a thorax. If the user consequently stores this scan protocol under a new title in which the word “thorax” occurs, a following user will mistakenly assume that this scan protocol is actually suitable for thorax examinations. Conversely, it can occur that a user uses a scan protocol provided for a specific task (for example a protocol for examination of a thorax) as a template for another examination and correspondingly modifies it, for example for examination of a knee. If the user then forgets to change the title of the scan protocol, subsequent users will mistakenly assume that the modified protocol is still a scan protocol for the originally specified application field.
This leads to image quality problems that are caused by the unsuitable parameter settings, or even to completely unusable scan results. Such operating errors due to incorrect or forgotten renamings of scan protocols are not rare in everyday situations, and such incorrectly named scan protocols can only be filtered out with difficulty. Therefore, this negative effect multiples in the course of time, and the result is an increasing uncertainty with regard to the quality of the scan protocols among the examining personnel. However, many operating errors can still creep in even given perfectly maintained data sets, primarily due to incorrect interpretation of existing information regarding scan protocols. There has previously been no reliable method with which such user errors can be precluded.